Pay With Beer Tokens

The Christian Moerlein Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio is bring back a new way to pay:  beer tokens.  The tokens are sold in sets of 5 for $25 and are redeemable for a draft beer at the Moerlein Lager House.  The Lager House is set to open in February 2012.  The tradition was brought back out of historical importance.  Typically, beer tokens were given as small gifts.

The brewery opened in 1853 in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood by the Bavarian immigrant Christian Moerlein and stayed in production until Prohibition.  In 1981, the brewery was back in business with the Christian Moerlein Select Lager  The lager was the first American beer to comply the Reinheitsgebot Bavarian Purity Law – a nod towards the brewery’s German heritage.  In 2004, Greg Hardman bought the company and has been working hard to rebuild the brand to its’ successful pre-Prohibition glory days.

Tags: gift ideas, Moerlein, Prohibition